Concrete piling and piling element.



M. M. UPSON. CONCRETE FILING AND PILING ELEMENT.

APPLICATION FILED IULY 23. 1909- 1,213,437.

Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

U'NiTED STATES PATENT oEFIoE. l

MAXWELL iu. UrsON, OEENGLEWOOD, NEwannsnir,` AssIGNon TonAJYMoNJc oo izrcaETE PILE COMPANY, OE NEW Yonx, N. Y., A yoonromvrIon OE NEW a'EssEY.

OONcanf'rE FILING AND FILING ELEMENT.

To all whom it may conce/rn Be it known that I, MAXWELL M. UrsoN, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Englewood, New Jersey,

have invented 'certain new and useful Im` provements in Concrete Piling and Piling lements, the rinciples of which areset` forth in the fo lowing specification and ac-4 bulkheads, buildings and the like.

The object of the invention is a practical construction, `physically and economically, ofsaid nature for such purposes, and the inventionconsists of the 'structures herein after disclosed and claimed.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is a horizontal section (at 1-l,` Fig. 2) of a plurality ofV concrete iles or piling elements constructed inaccor ance with. the invention and comf bined to form piling; Fig. 2 is a partial ele;- vation of the same, and Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections along the line B-B'f of Fig. ^2- l i s 1he following priorV art .has the stated dis.`

crete, either both, or one or thenother, and

wherein there is a metal interlock, are ex- `cessively expensive and lack the mechanicaladvantage of a uniform, thick and stable concrete Structure. So also with sheet pil ing entirely composed of steel, which is not sufliciently rigid unless the mass of the material is increased to an economically pro "hibitive degree, as by increasing the thickness of the sheets or by provlding extra angles to withstand thegreatest strains. In any case, steel piling is most expensive, and has a short life resulting from rust and saltwater erosion; and protection of the steel by Specification Ot Letters Patent. Ptented Jan. 23, 1917. Application tiled July 23, 1909. Serial No. 509,111.

coatings of concrete simply increases its said excessive cost. i Y

This invention involves a concrete pile, as

a-pilingelement, which needs no metal parts extending through it in the line of piling,

or from top to bottom, and which is in and of itself essentially a concrete pile;i prefer 60 ably steellreinforced vertically, an having ametallic lock or interlock to withstuml right angle strains, but practically and stantially lacking a continuous steel ture, as distinguished from steel "pir i1 The economies and mechanical advent and the modes of making and use of t -novel combination concrete-steel pile will he apparent froma study of the following cle-l scription. 7o The'concrete piles shown may consist 'of the material commonly used, c'. e., comprising cement, sand, and broken stone or griilvel, the last being preferably -used for economy. The piles may be molded in any lmownwway, 15j and may, and preferably do, contain the usual y vertical steel reinforcing rods or equivalents shownat 'Y as mutually sup ported by wires or stirrups X, in the usuai way. The concreteof the pile is indicated 8o in Fi in section by the cross-hatching. Contribution to` the steel reinforcement of the piling elements is made by thesteelin terlocks hereinafter described which mayl 'be molded in the concrete at t e same time 85 as the ordinary reinforcing rods above menu tioned, thev interlocks being preferably engaged with the. supporting stirrups of the vertical reinforcing rods as shown# The chief characteristic oifmy cmnhina 90 tion of metal interlock with a concrete pile is that the interlocks' need be placed only Where it is desired that they perform their locking function, thus saving cost; the pil.- ing essentially consisting chiefly of the concrete piles; vand also that the interlockis so combined with the concrete of the pile itself as to permit the same to be so marie of concrete in the Ordinar way except in so far as concerns the,` embe ding or reception of -10o the metal interlock itself and also suchV modifications of the interlocking face of the pile as may result from such embedding or' adaptation 4for reception, or as may be necessary to permit the interlock to discharge its" 1.05 function. This invention makes it possible to asa piling element' the ordinary eon-l crete ile, without any V'external covering or container and capable of being grounded m the manner usual in the case of concrete piles.A

Y 'I have found that a concrete wallor piling made 'of the piles of this invention, is substantial y even stronger and more rigid than in or out of theirgrounded positions, but

preferably out, and before grounding; and

when so pre-molded they can be readily` han-v dled, and vgrounded in the ordinary way 1n which concretepiles are sunk, as by water;- jetting orv driving, or both, and without the necessityV of the-,preliminary trench-excavation required fora continuously-molded concrete wall. Y v

The lconstruction vand molded locationof the metallic interlocks, whichxnay be, and in many eases preferably are, ,of rolled steel of any shape suitable vfor '-interlocking, will be understood from a consideration of suchV members as A, Band B1, for example, at the left of Fig. 1. These members 'do not extendcontinuously in the horizontal line of piling through the molded concrete pile, (see Fig. '2 also) but have only sufficient Shanks S, S, to cause sufficiently strong embedding in the mass of concrete of the pile and to provide lateral bearingvsurfaces against the concrete to resist strains tending to displace them laterally,such strains, for example as would shear .oi the simple integral concrete tongue C, or the of the groove for said tongue, if the metal interlocks were not molded in a's stated. The concrete tongue C, and groove M (walls D, 1),) are used, if desired, (in ad the principal features of the invention) 4for the purpose of assisting in closing the joint between the. piling elements while permitting theV presence of the vertically-short interlocks A, B, to for closing the joint'to be described, may be used if desired, with or'without the simple integrally cast concrete tongue and groove.

he metal interlocks are suspended in the mold in any way customary "with ordinary reinforces. In the y tegrally connecting A and Brin a single pile or/piling element, this lack-being one feature of substantial economy, other and cheaper means may belpemployed as hereinafter described, ifV desired', to increaser resistance to strains tending to pull the inter'- locks out of the concrete; an important object of the interlocks being to canse to resist strains at piling as well i as i' those the interlock registers,

walls D, D,

ition to be described.'` Otherrneans lack vof a steel web in# 'of-vtheiiook-portion. of member A.

the pile right' angles to its verti-` cal length, including those in line with the `Laurea? when desired, or either, if desired. Thus A and B may have one or more lateral proctions ontheir'inner ends as indicated at i E; or tie-rods F (Figs. 1 and 2) may co also disclosed and will be described. In cases, however, where it is necessary only to provide against transverse strains, the metallic interlock need not be double in the sense that it also resists lon itudinal strains in the line .of the piling. he metal interlocks may bef usedv as guides for successively grounding adjacent piles, (the vertically disposed sections to be described being in qver- `tical alinement for' this purpose), sothat when one'piling element is in place in the ground, the next is lifted in place so that the second pile being then sunk alongside the first. After the grounding l.of the two adjacent piles, the free space at the joint in the vicinity of the interlock maybe filled with hydraulic vcement termed grout, (indicated by dots inFig. l), and consisting ,of cement, sand and water in customary proportions, lacking the broken stone forming a constituent of the concrete of the piles, themselves. This grout sets with the two adjoining concrete piles, closes the joint water-proof to make a .substantially continuous wall of molded concrete, and also surrounds the metal interlock with the result of protecting it from rust 0r erosionbyn the actionV of salt water. By forcing the grout down into the bottom of said space, if desired, the pile-footing can be improved so as to increase the carrying capacity of the vgrounded structure. The

grouting of the ]oint, or of' the concrete.

tions as shown in Figs. 1, '2, 3, and 4. The

sect-ion B-B of Fig. 2 (Figs. 3 and 4) shows a casewhere hook-interlock A, doesv not. extend beyond the face of the molded concrete pile.

"',In Fig'. 3 is shown a permanent thin shcetsteel hollow member G, which serves not only as themoldlcore for a passage H, extendingr from end 'to end of the concrete pile and opening through the hollow of hook-interlocks A, but serves also as a wearthe cooperating member B1 or' ing-guide for B to reinforce thefwall of the vpassage in the concrete pile. Thishollow steel core G may be bcntas a core .for the mold toform a hole inv the concrete between the relatively rertically-A disposed f metallic interlocking members as shown in Fig. 3, said hole having tiiesalne diameter as that of the inside Or as shown in Fig. i the hollow core G1 may be larger than the inside of the hook portion, so that the Wall ofA A, A, sets back of the inside of the hook the hole H1. between transverse to it, Y

vect A and B. Other such means are portion ofi A. In the latter case the hookortions of A will take all the wear, and core 1 may be removed after the molding of the lpile, if not desired as a permanent reinforce spaces, passages, or grooves between the vertlcally disposed -hook members A, may be cored to an wother desired shape, if desired.

The numberA of vertical interlocks A, one or `more, and the vertical length of each,

`the longitudinal width of the shank S,; if

used; and-the dimensions of shank-end inj terlock F, if used, are matters of practice determined in each case by calculations as to the pull and strains to which any particular installation of piling will be subjected ,during and after installation. The same is true as to the other interlocks B1, corre-v sponding with members A, because vertically successive members Bl will be guided into their appropriate cooperating members A, on account of the alinement established by the substantially extended vertical en` i so' gagement of the first vertical pair.

It is clear that after the grouting described above, in the space around the interlock, the joint is as watertight as if the metal. interlock `were vertically continuous' from top to4 bottom, and it is clear also tllatI substantial economy of steel results from the molding of the concrete of the pile into the vertical and. horizontal spa "es between the interlocks.

r (In Fig. -2such Yconcrete is shown above and below, and between the metallic interlocks).

, The steel members A, B, Bl (molded in the` pilingV elements), en the other hand, provide interlocking means capable of witlistanding strains not possible vto b'e borne by!" interlocks consisting, of simple integral con-i crete po'rtions of the piles. Finally, the piling itseltl is not only substantially as strong as sheet-steel piling, but provides that increased stability and carrying vcapacity which could be furnished otherwise only by a continuously molded concrete Wall or by sheet steel pilingplastered thickly on both sides with concrete. The vertical or hori` Zonta] separation'ofthe interlocking members, or both, permitsI the casting ot a homogeneous reinforced concrete pile which is much stronger than a pile in which the in- 4 terlockin'g members extend throughout `the whole length o1' width and sevenit into two parts. In other words, it permits the pile to be made integrally of concrete as distinguishcd from a merc plastcring of concrete over an ordinary sheet steel pile.

Many modifications may bepmployed. A and B are shown as molded in concrete tongue C, and groove M1 respectively; but

`N, 0, instead o as extending only to the' face of the pile, but

they might extend beyond it, as at J, K, and L. Each Pile may have two grooves,

one groove M and a tongue C; and the larger space afforded by result ing adjoining grooves M1, N, is useful in most readily permitting a thorough grouting or even concrete fillin in of the joint and metal interlocks. 0r t e pile may have flat joint-faces, alhook interlock J1 being entirely embedded in the concrete of the pile, and an interlock K having only its shank S embeddedits bill projecting beyond the flat face. Or ordinary steel 'channels P, Q, R may be embedded (as partial equivalents'of hooks A), one, as P or R, extending only to a joint face of a grooved pile, and the other, as Q, extending beyond sheet meta-l cores, as U, may be left in place I to serve as wearing guides for the interlocks, particularly such as I( or L which engage with only one edge of their respective cooperatingme'mbers P or R.

In some Acases a pile can be molded with only one metal interlocking member, as for example the I beam shown at W, so that this single member, molded in one of the piling elements, can be engaged in a groove in the joint face of another piling element. The I beam is lodged in` a cavity formed` by the thin metal core or reinforcer U1.

Such cases are where they thicknesses of the concrete pile and of the groove-walls D1, l)i are sufficient, and the interlocking groove and member W' are suiliciently narrow, so that the walls or projections D1, `D1 will not be sheared oli by transverse strains. ln such cases the ef'l'ect is as ii each of both adjoining joint-faces of adjacent piles had its own separate metallic interlock moldedv in it, and as if the two interlocks ,engaged cach other. But in this disclosure,

essary or desirable the 4concrete portions D1,-

D1 maybe strengthened by moldedinsteel reinforcing members such as Z, Z1.'- In this 13 vertically-disposed particular' embodiment of the invention, very great Veconomy of steel can be had even if' the steel member W entends uninterruptedly from top to bottom of the'v pile. If the reinforces Z, Z1 be used, they may be simply the ordinary Wires or stirrups.

In order to save thc cos't of grout for filling the interlocking spaces and protecting the metallic interlocks, the stirrupsV or other metallic interlooks may be extended, in molding, as at X1, beyond the fiat face of the pile, and the mold be constructed so that the broken-stone mixture will entirely surround the interlocking members to form the strong and rigid interlocking pro jection K1 engaging in the groove T1 in the adjacent pile. 'l'he walls of the groove T1 are in this'case preferably reinforced by molded-in metallic members, as Z2. ,Another w'ay of avoiding expensive grouting, and at the Sametime to obtain metallic 'interlocking of grooved concrete piles, is toV prepare an independent locking membereonsisting of a concrete column having the sheet metal envelop A1 of double-wedge form lto co" lplane of the piling and at angles therewith.

operate in the correspondingly formed pile groove A2. 'If desired, this member the one shown at its right, and in sucl case the groove-reinforce Z2 may be omitted from that pile, as shown.` When not cast with a piling element, member`A1 may be driven into theground in one pile to serve as a guide for the grounding of the adjacent pile.

In case a grounding guide is not neces' sary, an interlock such as the hollow metal' form C1, of the double-wedge form shown, may be placed in the edge of the pile grooves, and then grout mayl be applied both inside and outside of the hollow form, the reinforcements Z3, Z1 being employed to strengthen the pile grooves.

Except for convenience in locatingV the interlock sections in their proper vertical positions, solutely necessarythat the lefthand side of sections W be pre-molded in the pile, and they might be lowered, after the grounding of the pile, into a groove molded therein; although in such lcase lV may be subsequently grouted in the groove, either before or-after the succeeding grooved pile hasbeen grounded along NV as a. guide.

Except for the economy ofsteel, it is notl necessary for the respective interlocks to be vertically disposed rn sections, provided that the pile retains its=inte,e;rity as'k a concrete pile.` as by having sufficient extent of concrete interposed between the horizontal series of interlocks of a given pile, and substantially from top to bottom between said series. Inno case may the' concrete structure of the pile be substantially `Weakened as by in effect splitting it in two in A, concrete wall.

A1 may. be cast integrally with a piling element,`as

it is not ab-4 means is desirable or necessary.

pile must at least contain ahave the horizontal concrete space as wide` as possible, consistent with the proper enibedding of the interlocks in the joint-faces to resist pulls at right angles to the vertical length of the pile.

The ultimate product ofvthe'invention is a piling which is all-concrete, as concerns all but the desirable ordinary reinforcement, and the metallic interlocks and the latter are' preferably completellv cement, such that the e ect, as to waterproofing and perpetual/life, is that of a solid This piling furthermore resembles a continuous concrete Wallin being of' uniform thickness, not increased at the joints, lacking any outer covering or container, and having full strength both 1n the This piling may. be adapted to any desired angle, by merely changing the shape of the molds for the individual piles. .n short, it may be used under any conditions where steel piling is now used, but with not only high comparative economy, but with greatly increased stability and carrying capacity'. Not only is it much more economical for a given height of pile, but the econf omy is multiplied asa result of the fact that a given height of pile basa greater carrying capacity,

ter of the concrete pile el'elxlellits "1nd its substantial thickness.l

herein in its ordinary sense as meaning a pile of'molded concrete, preferably with-integrpl metallic reinforcing means, butwhich is complete in and of itself, in that no casing, covering or any exterior protection The expression interlock is used' herein to mean a lock which resists pulls at right angles to the height of a piling element, either longitudinally or transverselyfof the line of piling, orboth. f-

.--I claim;

A1 piling element consisting i? .a pile composed of concrete and 3having embedded in` itA metallic interlocks for the res'p'ective joint faces, vsaid interlocks being separated by a concrete filled pile space in the direction of the piling, and such interlocks con. sisting of a vertically disposed .series of sections separated fromllea'ch other b ythe protected with owing to thetmglsivecharaci pile concrete, and coperative with adjacent piling elements. v l

2. A piling 4element comprising a 'pile cmnposed of concrete and having embedded rato' u in it at; each of two of its respective sides, separate metallic members, each constructed to interlock with adjacent pilinglements..

3. A piling element comprilmg a. pilel composed of concrete and having a vertical metallic interlockembedded init in the plane of the piling but extending onlv part-ially through 1the pile in the dlrectionof 4. A piling element consisting of a. prelmolded pile com used-essentially of concrete 4and having -em edded in it a rolled steel member Vnot affecting the integrity of the concrete structure, butA extending outside the ,concrete and adapted cooperate witli .In 15 succeeding piling element to rsist atlright angles to the verticallength off-the p1 e.

y5. A piling element comprising a. pile' composed of concrete and having embedded l( in its side a, separate metallic membe in vertically disposed sections each constructed 'tominterlockinto an adjacent piling element.

MAXWELL M. UPSON.A

Witnesses:

H. R. Mom PHILIP FARNswoRTH. 

